During an excursion organised by the “Netzwerk Fokus Tierwohl” project in October, the focus was on the design of outdoor runs for laying hens. The Engling farm in Geeste (Emsland) provided an insight into its organic laying hen farming operations.

In 2018/19, the family built a new aviary house for 15,000 laying hens. It was decided, in collaboration with the company Wald21, to plant part of the outdoor run with poplars. The advantage of this system is that the laying hens make better use of the outdoor run thanks to the shelter provided by the trees. “As soon as the hatches open in the morning, almost all the hens rush out into the outdoor run. In the safe thicket of poplars, you can always see birds taking dust baths and resting. In the evening, the hens return to the house of their own accord and there are no problems with birds remaining in the trees,” explains Michael Engling. Another positive aspect is that, at the time of the visit, no signs of feather pecking or cannibalism could be observed. The flock was in its 58th week of life and appeared calm and composed.

Planting the poplars

Mr Kudlich from Wald21 explained that the trees are best planted in spring (late April) using cost-effective cuttings. The cuttings are shoots cut from the nursery’s plantation, without any root system. Cuttings 40 cm long can be used for planting. However, in the area close to the barn, up to approx. 50 m around the barn, cuttings approx. 80 cm long should be used for planting. Here, the cuttings should be larger so that they are not pecked to pieces by the chickens.

To ensure successful planting, Michael Engling pointed out that the planting bed should be well prepared. The existing grassland should be thoroughly chopped up and turned over before planting to minimise competition for water. At the Engling farm, this was done using a plough furrow. Weeds should also not be overlooked at the outset. During the initial growth phase, weed control must be carried out mechanically. At the Engling farm, this was done by hand between the trees in a row, whilst between the rows of trees (spaced 2m apart) it could be done mechanically. In total, weeds were controlled in eight intervals; after the final treatment, the area between the rows was tilled and then rye was sown to suppress weeds. In the year of planting, 2019, there were also long dry spells in spring and summer, making irrigation a major challenge, recalls the farm manager. Some of the poplars dried out and therefore had to be replanted.

Arrangement of the trees

The trees were planted in blocks of six rows, aligned with the barn, with a 2-metre gap left between the rows of trees within each block. Generally, the rows of trees begin at a distance of around twelve metres from the barn. This distance is primarily to allow access for the tractor. Gaps were also left between the groups of trees to enable soil cultivation work to be carried out with the tractor.

Furthermore, regarding the Engling family’s outdoor run, it should be noted that each hen has 5 m² of space available in the run, rather than the 4 m² prescribed for organic farming. This gives the farm some leeway should certain areas of the run need to be temporarily cordoned off. Due to this additional space, the longest row of trees extends for approximately 190 m right into the corners of the run. Chickens can still be found even at this considerable distance from the barn.

Tree maintenance

The trees only need pruning after a few years. When pruning, the trees should be cut back as low as possible so that they sprout well again. If the pruned trees cannot be cordoned off from the hens, they should be cut back to a height of 0.5 to 1 m. This ensures that the new shoots on the poplars are not damaged directly by the hens.